Texas

[RachaelS]

Quote: The problem I have with a sunken garden is solid bedrock, maybe 1/2 inch of soil on top, then nothing but limestone

The trees around here have broken through it, but super hard to grow anything. I have to build it all up to plant.

When I got home today one of my bunnies had gotten out of his pen, has happened before, but he always stayed in my backyard. This time he had gotten out. Just not sure how. I made sure all sundry holes were fixed. I'm sad. It's going to be so cold

I hope he comes home soon.

Yup. Trouble has to go. And I don't think she is best suited to be in a small coop... she pecked a hole in one of my other chickens necks. If anyone wants her for a free range flock please let me know. granthamkk. I am not sure you would want to add her to your flock after this since you keep your two girls in a coop and run durng the day, it is still up to you though if you want her, i just wanted to give you a heads up. She is free to a good home.

Sorry! I bet you will find a good home quick!

Another "ice" day, kids are happy to stay home but not nearly as much fun as the "snow" day.

 

[jajeanpierre]

The problem I have with a sunken garden is solid bedrock, maybe 1/2 inch of soil on top, then nothing but limestone

The trees around here have broken through it, but super hard to grow anything. I have to build it all up to plant.

When I gardened in St. Croix (US Virgin Islands) most of the ground was kaliche. I used a pick ax to get through it. I always dig my holes with a pick ax. Let me rephrase that for Lisa--I used to dig my holes, now my husband does and I watch.

 

[Mi Ranchito]

Feed them more? My fish never eat my water lilies. I suspect they eat some of the algae. Too many fish and/or not enough food would be my initial thought. I have just regular gold fish and some sort of small dark fish the previous owner called "mosquito fish."

You are probably right, I have about 10 gold fish in a 10x10 pond that is 3-4 feet deep at the center. They certainly are voracious eaters, so I am a bit cautious of feeding too much fish pellets. Currently they are dormant, so they are not coming up to the surface to eat, when I do feed them. I will take your advice into consideration and see if I can grow a beautiful water garden. Thank you again.

 

[jajeanpierre]

The problem I have with a sunken garden is solid bedrock, maybe 1/2 inch of soil on top, then nothing but limestone

One other thing, if you have limestone, it is usually rocks, not a solid piece. They can be small or pretty large. I've got a lot of limestone on my property. We just dig them out with a pick ax and a crow bar. Sometimes it takes hours to work them out and often it is finding the one small rock a foot or so away that is keeping all the other rocks we are working on firmly in place. We've gotten some pretty big boulders out of a hole where I wanted to plant a tree.

 

[jajeanpierre]

You are probably right, I have about 10 gold fish in a 10x10 pond that is 3-4 feet deep at the center. They certainly are voracious eaters, so I am a bit cautious of feeding too much fish pellets. Currently they are dormant, so they are not coming up to the surface to eat, when I do feed them. I will take your advice into consideration and see if I can grow a beautiful water garden. Thank you again.

Is there anything else in your pond that might be eating your water lilies? Turtles? Ducks? Wild ducks?

 

[Mi Ranchito]

Is there anything else in your pond that might be eating your water lilies? Turtles? Ducks? Wild ducks?

No. I have seen my goldfish nibble at the green leaves in the water. I have planted bulbs in clay pots, but as soon as they begin to sprout, they start nibbling at them and eventually pull out the bulb and nibble at that too. In the summer, I let the grass grow into the pond so that the frogs can lay their abundance of eggs, as well as house other little insects and in this manner, the goldfish have plenty to eat as opposed to just fish pellets. So, they are getting plenty to eat, in my opinion. They do a good job at spawning and during this time, the ducks will thin out the fish pond by catching some of the spawning fish. I am going to do a bit more research and see if I can find a solution. I really want to have water lillies.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

You are probably right, I have about 10 gold fish in a 10x10 pond that is 3-4 feet deep at the center. They certainly are voracious eaters, so I am a bit cautious of feeding too much fish pellets. Currently they are dormant, so they are not coming up to the surface to eat, when I do feed them. I will take your advice into consideration and see if I can grow a beautiful water garden. Thank you again.

You aren't supposed to feed your goldfish or koi if the water is below 50*.
"Important: Do not feed if there is any chance of the temperatures dropping below 50°F within a few days. Fish are not capable of proper digestion in cold water and the food can decay in their system, sending bacteria into the bloodstream and killing the fish."
From Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[TexasLisa]

When I gardened in St. Croix (US Virgin Islands) most of the ground was kaliche. I used a pick ax to get through it. I always dig my holes with a pick ax. Let me rephrase that for Lisa--I used to dig my holes, now my husband does and I watch.

 

[hensfortherapy]

[COLOR=000080]Hi greetings from San Antonio.  I have a pond outside with goldfish in it and they have really done well despite the hot summers and cold blasts we get.  So, I must say I am impressed with their hardiness.  But I have a question for you...I have tried to set up water plants in my pond and would love to have water lillies, but the gold fish devour the plants...do you have the same problem?  How are you able to keep your water lillies from being eaten by the gold fish?[/COLOR]

My set up is pretty primitive. It is half of an old water tank from our last house. We replaced it with a larger, black one because it had algae growing in it. Yucky. I tend to recycle stuff. So my husband cut it in half and then cut 2 12 inch circles I use for raised beds. The goldfish eat the algae and I feed them fish pellets. Never had a problem with them eating the waterlilly. Dumb luck I guess.

 

[hensfortherapy]

Could not find my Scrambled this morning when I went to feed the girls. Went back out to check their water again and she was still missing. I found her...headless. Some animal had gotten her.
I don't know if it got her last night or this morning. I did not go out and check that they all made it in last night. The automatic doors closed and they had been so good at all going in. I am kicking myself, but it probably just means I would have found her last night. I think I will be packing when I put them up tonight. Don't predators tend to come back? This is my first loss to an animal.